With $6 million in prize money up for grabs, the seventh Butterfield Bermuda Championship will light up the island over the next four days.

The golfer who finishes on top of the leaderboard will pick up a cool $1.08 million and two players inside the world’s top 50 are teeing off at Port Royal Golf Course in the hope of a big payday this week.

At 42nd in the world, American Michael Brennan has had a stratospheric rise up the rankings. The 23-year-old, who turned professional in 2024, started the year ranked 681st but won the Bank of Utah Championship last month in his first tournament on the PGA Tour after receiving a sponsor’s exemption into the event.

Sam Stevens, 29, is two places inside the world’s top 50 at 48. He has finished runner-up on the PGA Tour on three occasions ― the Texas Open in 2023, the Wichita Open in 2024 and the Farmers Insurance Open this year.

There may well be more quantity than quality on display with the tournament last year boasting, although that is probably not the right word, the weakest Official World Golf Ranking field rating of any primary PGA Tour event that did not run simultaneously with another.

But although the statistics suggest there is no strength in depth to the field, the tournament is still noted for its intriguing mix of veterans trying to recapture former glories and young guns attempting to make their first breakthrough on golf’s toughest tour.

One man falling firmly into the first category is major Danny Willett. The Englishman is the only player in the field to own a prestigious green jacket after winning The Masters in 2016 and is eligible to play here only on a medical exemption after struggling with shoulder problems for a couple of years.

Last competing in Bermuda in 2021, Willett has shown signs of his old spark, notably when finishing in the top ten at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, but he has missed five of the last six cuts on tour. However, that is no barrier to success with last year’s winner Rafael Campos having exactly the same record before going on to glory.

Indeed recent consistent form is no guide to finding the winner of this event with all six Bermuda Championship winners missing at least two of their previous three cuts on the PGA Tour.

That suggests that Port Royal’s idiosyncrasies and propensity for wind ― forecast to be upwards of 20mph on all four days with the strongest gusts saved for Sunday ― can revive even the most out-of-form golfer.

Four of the six previous winners have been ranked 317th or higher in the world rankings going into their winning weeks so those of you who fancy a flutter may be well advised to steer clear of those at the head of the betting markets, which include former European Ryder Cup player Thorbjorn Olesen, Colombian Nico Echevarria and Rico Hoey, from the Philippines.

Hoey, in particular, is worth watching after finishing seventeenth on his first trip to the island last year and his relatively new switch to a broomhandle putter could eke out the couple of extra birdies he needs to put himself in contention.

While it is interesting to keep an eye on the top of the leaderboard, most fans of the sport on island will be lowering their sights to the cut line in the hope that one of the local players can make it into the final two days for the first time.

Camiko Smith has come closer than anyone, missing the cut by just two shots last year, but he will be watching on from outside the ropes this time around as Kenny Leseur, Will Haddrell and Oliver Betschart get the chance to test themselves against some of the best in the game.